View source for Biology:Nelson's milksnake

{{Short description|Subspecies of snake}}
{{subspeciesbox
| name          = Nelson's milksnake
| image         = Albino Nelsoni.jpg
| image_caption = Albino Nelson's milksnake, ''Lampropeltis triangulum nelsoni''
| genus         = Lampropeltis
| species       = triangulum
| species_link  = Milk snake
| subspecies    = nelsoni
| authority     = Blanchard, 1920<ref name="Bartlett2005">{{Cite book 
 | last1 = Bartlett
 | first1 = Richard D.
 | last2 = Markel
 | first2 = Ronald G.
 | title = Kingsnakes and Milksnakes: Everything about Purchase, Housing, Health Care, and Breeding 
 | publisher = Barron's Educational Series, Inc.
 | year = 2005 
 | isbn = 978-0-7641-2853-0
 | pages = 86
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=PmU3hvbVeWsC 
 }}</ref>
}}

'''Nelson's milksnake''' (''Lampropeltis triangulum nelsoni'') is a [[Biology:Subspecies|subspecies]] of king snake that is found in Mexico from southern Guanajuato<ref name="tigr">{{cite web
 | url = http://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species.php?genus=Lampropeltis&species=triangulum
 | title = The Reptile Database, ''Lampropeltis triangulum'' LaCépède, 1789
 | accessdate = 2007-06-24
}}</ref> and central [[Place:Jalisco|Jalisco]]<ref name="tigr" /> to the Pacific Coast.<ref name="Bartlett2005" />  It is also found on the narrow plains of northwestern Michoacán<ref name="tigr" /> and on the Tres Marias Islands.<ref name="Bartlett2005" /><ref name="tigr" /> The range of this snake appears to be tied to the proximity of [[Earth:Watercourse|watercourse]]s, including ones utilized for [[Earth:Irrigation|irrigation]] and [[Earth:Agriculture|agriculture]].<ref name="Bartlett2005" /> It is a [[Biology:Subspecies|subspecies]] of the milksnake, ''Lampropeltis triangulum''. It is similar in size to other king [[Biology:Snake|snake]]s, averaging {{convert|42|in|cm}} long, and like them, it is nonvenomous.

This species is named in honor of Edward W. Nelson who worked for the U.S. Biological Survey from 1890, becoming chief in 1916.<ref name="Belletal2003">{{Cite journal
 | url = https://www.redalyc.org/pdf/575/57509006.pdf
 | title = An Annotated List of the Species-Group Names Applied to the Lizard Genus ''Sceloporus''.
 | first1 = Edwin L.
 | last1 = Bell
 | first2 = Hobart M.
 | last2 = Smith
 | first3 = David
 | last3 = Chiszar
 | year = 2003
 | journal = Acta Zoológica Mexicana
 | issue = 90
 | pages = 103&ndash;174
 }}</ref><ref>Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. {{ISBN|978-1-4214-0135-5}}. (''Lampropeltis triangulum nelsoni'', p. 188).</ref>

==Characteristics==
Size: Adults average {{convert|42|in|cm}} long.<ref name="Bartlett2005" />
 
Habitat: Semi-arid coastal thorn scrub and interior tropical deciduous forests.<ref name="Bartlett2005" />
 
Prey: Nelsons are opportunistic feeders. They will eat birds, small [[Biology:Rodent|rodent]]s, [[Biology:Lizard|lizard]]s, [[Biology:Amphibian|amphibian]]s, and other snakes, including venomous species. It has a natural tolerance to the venoms of many native snakes.<ref name="herpscope">{{cite web
 |url         = http://www.herpscope.com/cgi/herpguide.cgi?Action=lookup&Key=Lampropeltis+triangulum+nelsoni
 |title       = The Nelson's Milksnake, ''Lampropeltis triangulum nelsoni''.
 |accessdate  = 2007-06-24
 |url-status     = dead
 |archiveurl  = https://web.archive.org/web/20061107132744/http://www.herpscope.com/cgi/herpguide.cgi?Action=lookup&Key=Lampropeltis+triangulum+nelsoni
 |archivedate = 2006-11-07
}}</ref>

==Appearance==
[[File:Moulted Lampropeltis triangulum nelsoni.jpg|left|thumb|Moulted skin of an albino Nelson's milksnake with 21 rows of scales]]
[[File:Albino Lampropeltis triangulum nelsoni Head.jpg|right|thumb|Head of an albino Nelson's milksnake.]]
The snake has 13 to 18 red rings and commonly has a dark-flecked light snout (in rare cases, the snout is mostly black).<ref name="Bartlett2005" />  While the red bands are quite wide, the black ones are noticeably thinner, and the white is very thin.<ref name="Bartlett2005" />  There is practically no black tipping on both the white and the red scales.<ref name="Bartlett2005" />  Albinism and pattern aberrancies are established.<ref name="Bartlett2005" /> It has 19 to 23 rows of smooth scales and a single anal plate.<ref name="herpscope" />

Until noted by Williams in 1978, it was not recognized that the ''L. t. sinaloae'', or Sinaloan milksnake, found near Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico, is a subspecies of milksnake distinct from the less common ''L. t. nelsoni''.<ref name="applegate">{{cite web
 | title = Nelson's Milk Snake
 | publisher = Applegate Reptiles
 | accessdate = 2007-06-24
 | url = http://www.applegatereptiles.com/species/nelsoni.htm
 | archive-date = 2007-06-13
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070613194736/http://www.applegatereptiles.com/species/nelsoni.htm
 | url-status = dead
 }}</ref>

==References==

{{Reflist}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q2382700}}

[[Category:Lampropeltis]]

{{Sourceattribution|Nelson's milksnake}}